The present invention relates to a pull-out shelf for mounting on rack uprights or the like and comprising two brackets projecting from the uprights or from supports mounted thereon, at least one rail mounted on each bracket so as to be capable of being pulled out, and a shelf plane or equivalent, supported by the rails, for articles which are to be placed on the shelf, which shelf comprises at least one releasable locking member which, when an associated operating member is actuated manually, releases the pull-out rails, so that these can be pulled out and pushed in, and, in the unactuated state, locks the rails relative to the brackets.
Shelves of this type are used in, inter alia, shops as, in the pulled-out position, they make placing new products on the shelf or rearranging products located on the shelf easier. There are many previously known constructions of pull-out shelves. One example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,175. However, the shelf according to this patent specification has only two positions in which the shelf is locked, namely a fully pushed-in position and a fully pulled-out position. In addition to the fact that this does not allow any variation in the position of different shelves, there is also a safety risk as the shelves are usually inclined downward somewhat in the forward direction. This means that, after release, a shelf bearing heavy products can come out with very great force if, for example, the person who released the shelf loses his grip. In particular in the case of shelves which are high up, this can give rise to serious accidents.
EP-B1-0,730,424 describes another example of a pull-out shelf. In this case, the shelf can be locked in various positions between an inner and an outer end position. However, the intermediate positions are predetermined by slots or holes and fine adjustment of one shelf relative to another is not possible.
Shelves for shop fittings are not of standardized depth, which means that, if shelves from different manufacturers are to be mounted on a common rack, these may project to varying degrees from the rack. A shelf according to the aforementioned European patent allows only stepwise adjustment and thus cannot with certainty be adapted to other known shelves.
In the known shelf, the supporting brackets are also made with adjustment notches, which means that their bearing capacity is reduced, as a result of which the dimensions have to be increased. This means that the shelves themselves occupy more of the precious space in the shops and are more bulky when it comes to storage and transport. The brackets are already connected to transverse stays during manufacture to form a frame supporting the shelf plane. This means that the shelves will require a relatively great volume during storage and transport.
One main object of the present invention is to produce a pull-out shelf which art eliminates inter alia the abovementioned problems and allows effective locking of the shelf in an optional position between an inner and an outer end position.
Another object is to produce such a shelf which is adjustable so that it can easily be used together with other shelves of different depth.
A further object is to produce a shelf of the type indicated above, which can be stored and transported in a flat demounted state and can easily be assembled in the shop.
In order to achieve the abovementioned aims, a shelf of the type indicated in the first paragraph is, according to the invention, characterized in that, when the operating member is unactuated, the locking member locks the rails under the action of a spring force, in that said manual actuation of the operating member takes place counter to the action of said spring force, so that releasing said operating member results in instantaneous locking of the rails and thus the shelf in the current position so as to allow stepless locking of the shelf in optional positions between an inner and an outer end position.
As a consequence of the instantaneous locking of the shelf on release of the operating member, inter alia the risk of accidents associated with pulling out a shelf bearing heavy products is eliminated. Moreover, the shelf can be locked in a desired position in relation to another shelf which may be of different depth. As a result of this, it is possible to ensure that the front edge of the shelf comes into line with the front edge of another shelf and that what is known as a cascade formation can also be brought about with shelves of different depth.
The locking member suitably follows the movement of the shelf and comprises a friction body projecting in between two engagement members borne by one bracket of the shelf. By means of this body, it is possible to lock the shelf in the desired position without making use of weakening notches or equivalent in the bracket. The latter can then be made with smaller dimensions than has previously been possible.
The friction body preferably has a non-circular cross section, the operating member being adapted so as, when actuated, to bring about a rotation of the friction body from a locking position, in which it is in friction engagement with said engagement surfaces, into a free position, in which the rail can be displaced in relation to these.
It is preferred that the friction body has a rectangular, preferably square, cross section and that, in the locking position, it is rotated in such a manner relative to the two engagement surfaces that the engagement with these increases as a consequence of an outwardly directed tensile force acting on the shelf.
This embodiment also reduces the risk of accidents as a consequence of heavily laden shelves coming out unintentionally.
Further characteristics of the invention emerge from the patent claims below.